Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine · How it works →
The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.
How we score the water
Our own model
Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.
01
Swell & wave memory
Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
Coast shape & exposure
How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.
Safety gates
Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
Night hours — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.
It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.
A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.
Where to get in, where to hunt
Entry points with coordinates
Seabed relief — promising ground
This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.
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0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
MeteoAlarm no dataupdated 13:53
Kythira — solo, off the rocks
Day is over
That is it for today — the day's windows have closed.
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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−10 m
The water column
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
What it is
A marine instrument, go / no-go for solo hunting.
spearo.app folds wind, wave, swell period, visibility, tides, water temperature and risk into a single verdict — go to the spot or not. It computes 7 days ahead from open marine models (Open-Meteo, IPMA), with no sign-up and no accounts. Built for solo spearfishing off the rocks, where any mistake costs dearly.
Now live: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Work early: by ten the swimmers and the boats are out, and in summer Kapsali is the busiest spot on the island. The season opens on 1 June; all of May is closed across Greece. September and October are the best months here — the crowds have gone and the water is still warm. Night is banned, sunset to sunrise.
tide
Tide does not count in this bay — the level moves ten or twenty centimetres. There is no current on the reef either; the dive centre says as much, the water here just sits. What you do count is this: after several days of meltemi, murky water is pushed round the capes into the bay's throat and settles as a layer over the sand.
shelter
This is the floor of the double bay of Kapsali under the Venetian castle of Chora, on the island's south side. The body of Kythira blocks the whole northern sector, so when the meltemi settles in from N and NE the water in here just stands. Only a S or SW swell opens the bay, walking straight into its throat.
conditions
This is your north-wind option: while it blows twenty degrees outside, you can work the bay in peace. With south or south-west, turn around — the surge drags sand off the bay floor, visibility at eighteen metres drops to a couple of metres and the deep part stops making any sense at all.
hazard
Six big old anchors lie under you, left from the days when large sailing ships rode out the weather in this bay. That is the mark of a historic anchorage: if the area is declared an underwater archaeological zone the speargun is banned there, so check before you go and lift nothing off the bottom. And keep 200 m off swimmers and anchored boats.
access
Kapsali is a couple of kilometres of hairpins down from Chora, with parking right at the water and the dive centre at Piso Yalos. The reef itself, though, is a boat job: it sits out on the bay floor and it is a long swim from any beach. The top of the reef holds around eighteen metres and then drops to forty-five, which is no longer hunting depth.
Reef with six large anchors 18–45 m, boat; inside Kapsali bay, a lee on a N wind. Coords geo.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
First light is the only honest window: by mid-morning the swimmers come down into the coves and the village turns into a natural pool. On 6 August the village festival packs the little harbour — skip that day. The season starts on 1 June and all of May is closed across Greece. Night is banned, sunset to sunrise.
tide
The level moves thirty centimetres at most and nobody plans a dive around it here. The coves, though, are narrow: you feel a pull in the throat of each one, water going in and sucking back, and it is much stronger at the mouth than inside. After several days of meltemi murky water is pushed into the coves and sits right against the shore.
shelter
Avlemonas sits on the east coast between two small bays, and all the shelter here comes from the west: the island covers the village with its own bulk. North and north-east, Kythira's worst direction, run in along the coast unopposed. The rock folds between the coves give you partial cover and no more than that.
conditions
Come here on a west or south-west wind: it blows off the land and lays the water down in the coves. With a north-easterly around twenty degrees the place is off — across the zero-to-twelve-metre range the wave lifts sand and debris and visibility collapses within an hour. Easterly swell after a meltemi hangs on another day.
hazard
The limiting factor here is people. The village coves are the local swimming pool: steps are cut into the rock and everyone jumps in off the slabs, and the 200-metre rule around swimmers pushes you clear out of the settlement altogether. Add the little harbour with moored boats and set nets — marked nets also mean 200 metres. And the legal one, which outranks the people: east of the village begins the declared underwater archaeological site of the SE coasts of Kythira (ΥΑ ΦΕΚ 1786/Β/2003 with ΚΥΑ ΦΕΚ 336/Β/2004), and inside it spearfishing is prohibited. The boundary runs about two hundred metres east of the entry, so drifting east along the shore with a gun is out: work west of the village only, and lift nothing off the bottom.
access
Tarmac runs right into the village and you leave the car above the harbour. The entries are slabs and steps cut at the water's edge — boots are needed and you put your fins on standing in the water. From there you walk or swim along the coast until you are clear of people; the working range is shallow, zero to twelve metres.
Hytra (Chytra) isletKythira
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Go at first light: you want the three-mile crossing done before the day breeze gets up, and in July and August the meltemi owns the open water by midday. The season opens on 1 June — all of May is closed for spearfishing in Greece; the best windows are June and September–October. Night is banned, sunset to sunrise.
tide
Level means nothing here — it moves ten centimetres. What you count is the flow: inside the cave there is none at all, while outside, past the tip of the rock, a weak current occasionally sets from west to east. Three miles offshore both wind and flow are noticeably stronger than under the coast and build faster.
shelter
A bare rock in open water three miles south of Kapsali: there is nothing to hide behind but the islet itself. The local dive centre works this point in any wind except a westerly, which hits it head-on. Find the lee side of the rock and stay under it, keeping off the weather corner.
conditions
Only come here on a forecast: it is the three miles of open water to the islet that decide the day, not the site itself. In a westerly stay away — the 6–40 m wall takes it all and the narrows at the cave mouth start throwing you about. N and NE ruin the crossing even when the rock still holds calm water.
hazard
The big one: monk seals live in the large cave here, shy and very rare. Do not go inside, do not follow an animal, do not make noise — that cave is a haul-out, not a hunting hole. Around you is open sea with no shore to reach and the wall drops to forty metres: partner only, buoy in sight, and tour boats call daily.
access
Boat only: three miles from Kapsali, twenty to thirty minutes in a RIB, and the dive centre at Piso Yalos is your landmark ashore. There is nothing to tie to, so you work off a drift or an anchor on the lee side and somebody stays aboard. There is no shore route to this place at all.
Islet with caves/arches and a vertical wall 6–40 m, boat; ~3 nm S of Kapsali, current. Coords geo.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Watch the ferry timetable as much as the wind: early morning and evening are when the Diakofti approach is busiest. Work the gap between sailings and at first light while the water still stands. The season starts on 1 June — all of May is closed in Greece; June and October give the calmest days. Night is banned, sunset to sunrise.
tide
Tide explains nothing here. What counts is different: a moderately strong flow often runs along the hull, and the area is part of the Kythira–Antikythira strait, where the water moves more than it does under the coast. Start from the up-current end so you come back with the flow, and test the pull on your buoy line before the first dive.
shelter
There is no shelter. The hull lies on the east side of the island, right by the approach to Diakofti, wide open to the meltemi from N and NE — Kythira's worst direction. The islets the cargo ship ran onto in 2000 break part of the sea, but behind them there is still the open water of the strait.
conditions
The dive centre puts it plainly: good weather is required, the site is protected from nothing. With N or NE you do not come — the shallow part of the hull at three and a half metres goes murky first, and there is no business being among steel with bad visibility. It is worth working only in a calm or a light westerly.
hazard
Diakofti is the working port of Kythira, with ferries to Piraeus, Gythio, Neapoli and Crete. The hull lies roughly two hundred metres from the harbour works and outside the fairway, and that line is binding on you: closer to the mole and inside the fairway spearfishing is banned, and a manoeuvring ferry will not see you. Do not enter the hull. And a second boundary that is not the port's: about two kilometres south begins the declared underwater archaeological site of the SE coasts of Kythira with the Dragonares islets (ΥΑ ΦΕΚ 1786/Β/2003 with ΚΥΑ ΦΕΚ 336/Β/2004), where spearfishing is prohibited outright. The hull itself is outside it, but if you run south along the coast the gun goes away.
access
The sensible base is Diakofti itself — a few minutes by boat from the quay; from Kapsali it is twelve and a half miles round the island, a proper passage. The bow stands above water, so you see the mark from far off. Do not try it from shore: Diakofti beach is a shallow family beach and the port zone sits between it and the hull.
Tati's ReefKythira
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Go early while the water is glass: three miles back against the day breeze is a chore of its own. The season starts on 1 June and all of May is closed across Greece. June and the first half of October give the flattest water; at the height of summer the meltemi eats half your days. Night is banned, sunset to sunrise.
tide
Level decides nothing here. What decides is that the reef stands alone in open water: over the half-metre crown any swell makes a short chop that drives bubbles and haze down onto the first steps. After several days of meltemi the drift past the reef becomes noticeable and your buoy starts pulling to one side — judge by that.
shelter
A standalone reef three miles off Kapsali — nothing shelters it but its own shape. One side drops as a vertical wall, the other steps down, and that is your cover: when the swell hits the wall you work the stepped flank where the water is quieter. The crown comes up to within half a metre of the surface.
conditions
You need a flat day. The dive centre records no current on the reef itself, but three miles of open water and a crown at half a metre mean any ripple turns into chop over the shallow top and stirs the upper steps. With N or NE around twenty degrees the crossing is off, and a southerly swell hits the wall face on.
hazard
A crown at half a metre is what tears hulls and cuts feet: come onto the reef at slow speed and keep looking at the water. You are three miles out, so the buoy is not paperwork — it is the only thing that makes you visible to a passing boat. A partner is not optional: nobody surfaces from twenty-five metres alone over a reef like this.
access
Boat only: three miles from Kapsali, about twenty minutes' run. There are no marks on the water, so you go by plotter and by colour — the crown reads as a pale patch. Nothing to tie up to; drop the anchor on sand clear of the reef so you do not smash the rock, and keep somebody aboard while you work.
Vertical wall and stepped reef 0.5–25 m, boat; 3 nm off Kapsali, current. Coords approx.
SOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.
One morning glance — and you know.
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≈
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live
Look at the water right now.
Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».
Kythira — Kapsali Bay, beach + Chytra islet (YouTube live)YouTube live — Kapsali Bay, beach + Chytra islet. Embeddable under YouTube's terms (owner left embedding on). Read the water before you go.camera: youtube ↗
National minimum sizes + a 150 g floor (in the table below); grouper 1/day. Spearfishing is closed all May (ΠΔ 373/1985).
In season now
common dentex
Dentex dentex · 12–40 m · min 150 g
Premier reef target. No EU size — the 150 g minimum only. Ethical ≥40 cm (not law).
white seabream
Diplodus sargus · 0–12 m · EU 1967/2006
gilthead seabream
Sparus aurata · 2–20 m · EU 1967/2006
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax · 0–15 m · EU 1967/2006
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · 0–15 m · weight ≥750 g
Minimum by weight: ≥750 g (ΠΔ 62/2024). Don't take egg-bearing females.
dusky grouper
Epinephelus marginatus · 8–35 m · EU 1967/2006
Grouper: max 1/day (shared genus-Epinephelus limit).
red porgy
Pagrus pagrus · 15–40 m · EU 1967/2006
saddled seabream
Oblada melanura · 3–15 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
greater amberjack
Seriola dumerili · 5–30 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
leerfish / garrick
Lichia amia · 2–20 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
Mediterranean barracuda
Sphyraena viridensis · 3–25 m · min 150 g
No EU size — the 150 g minimum only. Histamine: bleed and chill at once.
flathead grey mullet
Mugil cephalus · 0–8 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
striped seabream
Lithognathus mormyrus · 2–15 m · EU 1967/2006
brown meagre / corb
Sciaena umbra · 5–30 m · EU 1967/2006
striped red mullet
Mullus surmuletus · 3–30 m · EU 1967/2006
white grouper
Epinephelus aeneus · 15–45 m · EU 1967/2006
Grouper: max 1/day (shared genus-Epinephelus limit).
goldblotch grouper
Epinephelus costae · 10–35 m · EU 1967/2006
Grouper: max 1/day (shared genus-Epinephelus limit).
wreckfish / stone bass
Polyprion americanus · 30–60 m · EU 1967/2006
Deep wreck species. Does NOT count toward the grouper limit (different genus). 45 cm — to verify.
Mediterranean parrotfish
Sparisoma cretense · 2–20 m · min 150 g
Eastern-Med delicacy (Crete/Dodecanese). No EU size — the 150 g minimum only.
devil firefish (lionfish)
Pterois miles · 5–40 m · invasive
⚠️ Invasive — removal encouraged, excellent flesh. Venomous spines: never grab bare-handed, cut the spines, treat a sting with hot water (>45 °C).
silver-cheeked toadfish
Lagocephalus sceleratus · 5–40 m · invasive
☠️ Invasive — kill, but DO NOT EAT: deadly toxin (TTX). Sale banned (Reg. 853/2004, Annex III Sect. VIII Ch. V(E)). Powerful beak bites — never string it live on a stringer.
Law
✓⚠️ MAY — a TOTAL spearfishing ban for the whole month, every year (ΠΔ 373/1985, art. 3§1α). This is law in force, not a draft.
✓No licence required: the was abolished in 2014 (Ν. 4256/2014) — every standing prohibition stays in force all the same.
•Recreational-fisher registry (ΟΣΠΑ / Μητρώο Ερασιτεχνών Αλιέων): Reg. (EU) 2023/2842 obliges member states to register recreational fishing, and the Greek registry is described as being prepared. We found neither an act in force nor a working registry as of 08.2026 — not confirmed. Check gov.gr before you travel.
✓Age: 16+ (under-16 spearfishing is forbidden; ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§1γ).
✓Daytime only: sunrise to sunset. Night is forbidden (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§1β).
✓Freediving only: scuba/any air-supply apparatus is banned — it may not even be carried aboard (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2γ).
✓Distances: ≥200 m from bathers, harbours, moored vessels and marked nets; no hunting in fairways or harbour entrances/exits (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§1δ/ε).
✓Buoy MANDATORY: a yellow float + a yellow flag with a red diagonal stripe and the letters «Υ.Δ.», visible from ≥300 m; stay within 50 m of the buoy (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§3).
✓Limit: 5 kg/day (or one trophy heavier than the limit). Grouper (Epinephelus) — max 1/day, not banned (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2).
✓Sale/trade of the recreational catch is prohibited (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 1§7).
✓Load the speargun only in the water — never keep it loaded out of the water (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2β). Underwater light while hunting is forbidden (art. 3§2ζ).
✓Sea urchins — 20/day per person and 30/day per boat (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2). Nets at any stage of the hunt are banned, and you may not take the catch out of somebody else's gear or nets (art. 3§2). Sponges and corals are off limits to the recreational fisher (art. 1§6).
✓Pneumatic and band guns are ALLOWED (a myth in English guides). Only spears with an explosive/chemical charge — — are banned (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2δ).
Min. sizes: seabass 25 cm · gilthead 20 cm · white seabream 23 cm · grouper 45 cm · octopus 750 g (ΠΔ 62/2024). Any fish — not under 150 g (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2στ). No-size species (dentex, amberjack, barracuda, parrotfish) — the 150 g minimum only. See the species card.
Safety protocol
Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. On a rocky/boulder shore a 0.5 m rise in swell can make the exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer.
Headland rip: prominent points often have a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
Afternoon wind: on many coasts the wind builds from midday — plan to be out of the water by midday; the chop builds — get out.
UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.
FAQ — spearfishing in Kythira
Where can I spearfish in Kythira?
Kythira has rock entry points such as Hytra (Chytra) islet, Anchors Reef (Kapsali bay) and Tati's Reef. A crossroads island south of the Peloponnese: deep clear water, walls, caves, strong straits current and big pelagics. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Kythira?
Long season, June to October (May closed nationally), peaking in summer; the west and east coasts give a lee for most winds.
How cold is the water in Kythira?
Clear, warm mediterranean water, tideless; the Ionian west is a touch greener, the Aegean east bright blue.
Is Kythira good for a beginner?
Mostly easy to moderate: pick the coast sheltered from the day's wind and you'll find calm, clear rock all summer.
Do I need a licence in Kythira?
No paid licence is needed in Kythira — the amateur one was abolished (Law 4256/2014), but a free ΟΣΠΑ registration is being introduced (check gov.gr). Breath-hold only (no scuba), a mandatory «Υ.Δ.» buoy, 16+, daytime only, and the whole of May is closed. See the guide.
Which fish can you spear in Kythira?
The species cards list 21 species with real presence in this basin; the strongest here are common dentex, white seabream, gilthead seabream, European seabass, common octopus and dusky grouper. Minimum sizes in Greece are NATIONAL, not local: white seabream 23 cm · gilthead seabream 20 cm · European seabass 25 cm · dusky grouper 45 cm · red porgy 18 cm · striped seabream 20 cm · brown meagre / corb 25 cm · common octopus 750 g. Species with no EU size carry the 150 g floor only. Grouper (Epinephelus) — max 1/day, not banned (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2).
Is spearfishing banned in May in Kythira?
Yes. May is a TOTAL spearfishing ban for the whole month, every year, across Greece (ΠΔ 373/1985, art. 3§1α) — so in Kythira too. It is law in force, not a draft, and there is no local exemption. Plan June to April.
How many kilos of fish may I keep per day in Kythira?
The daily limit is 5 kg, or one trophy heavier than the limit (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2). Grouper (Epinephelus) — max 1/day. Every fish must be at least 150 g (art. 3§2στ), and selling a recreational catch is prohibited (art. 1§7). The limit is national — in Kythira it is the same as everywhere in Greece.
✓Full ban on taking: Pinna nobilis (πίννα), corals and sponges (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 1§6 + Habitats Directive 92/43).
✓Invasives: taking the lionfish (λεοντόψαρο) is encouraged — ⚠️ venomous spines. The silver-cheeked toadfish (λαγοκέφαλος) ☠️ DO NOT EAT — deadly toxin (TTX), sale banned (Reg. 853/2004, Annex III Sect. VIII Ch. V(E)), it bites. The rabbitfish (γερμανός) is edible — venomous spines.
✓In ANY declared underwater archaeological site, and in the submerged historic sites, spearfishing is BANNED — the act names ψαροντούφεκο in so many words (ΚΥΑ ΥΠΠΟ/ΓΔΑΠΚ/ΑΡΧ/Α1/Φ41/11228/1865, ΦΕΚ 336/Β/2004, part Α §2 δ + part Β). It reaches the sites our map does not draw, too. Do not touch antiquities (Ν. 3028/2002). Map of the zones — the ENALIA geoportal (thalchor-2.ypen.gov.gr/layers/geonode:ENALIA).
•The national marine parks of Alonissos/N. Sporades and Zakynthos (Laganas): spearfishing is BANNED in the park. But Alonissos zone Β4 is not solid — ΦΕΚ 1741/Β/2011 reopened four stretches inside it (the N shore Αγ. Δημήτριος–Άκρο Απύθμενο, Μηλιά–Σπαρτίνες, όρμος Κλήμα on Περιστέρα, the Μεγάλος Αδελφός shore), while the same act creates the ΕΕΑΧ Περιστέρας, where fishing IS banned. Our layer paints the park whole, i.e. stricter than the act. Check the limits with the park authority.
•The Southern Kynouria/Arcadia diving park: Ν. 4688/2020 establishes underwater parks, but we have not read a spearfishing prohibition inside it in the act — we treat that as NOT PROVEN rather than as confirmed. The park's boundary is not on our map either (the act publishes no coordinates). Ask the Leonidio/Tyros λιμεναρχείο before you go.
•Local bans: on top of the national rules, every port authority issues its own (ΓΚΛ/ΕΚΛ and λιμενάρχης decisions). In the ΛΣ-ΕΛ.ΑΚΤ registry we counted ~163 of them that reach a speargun, across 48 ports — our map does NOT draw them. Check your own port: alieia.hcg.gr/prohibitions/local/local17.php.
•Locally STRICTER than the national rule: Corfu (Kerkyra) — from 01.04 to 31.10 spearfishing is banned within 200 m of the shore, even where nobody is swimming (απόφαση Λ/Χ Κέρκυρας 2141.1/2939/2024, ΦΕΚ Β΄3269/2024). In practice that closes shore entry on Corfu for the season. We read the act in the registry, not in the ΦΕΚ — confirm with the λιμεναρχείο.
•Locally STRICTER: Lefkada — 300 m instead of 200, and not only the speargun: ψαροντούφεκο, nets and longlines are banned within 300 m of those sea areas, beaches and shores of the port district THAT ARE USED BY BATHERS (απόφαση Λ/Χ Λευκάδας 2131.13/1477/2022, in its own words «όπου χρησιμοποιούνται από λουόμενους»). The act ran to 30.09.2022 and we found no extension; an expired act is not proof that the ban is gone. Ask the Lefkada λιμεναρχείο.
•Locally STRICTER: Symi — from 15.06 to 15.09 fishing BY ANY MEANS is banned within 200 m of beach areas and in inhabited coastal areas WHERE BATHERS ARE PRESENT OR GATHER (απόφαση Λ/Χ Σύμης 2131.13/882/2016). Separately, year-round: fishing by any means is banned inside the port and its sea zone, except line/rod fishing from land (ΓΚΛ Σύμης, art. 151, ΦΕΚ 362/Β/2004). The acts were copied from the registry, not checked against the ΦΕΚ.
•Locally: inside the ports of Lavrio and Kea spearfishing is banned across the WHOLE port water, not merely under the 200 m rule; separately, in front of the hotel beaches (ΓΚΛ Λαυρίου, art. 240, ΦΕΚ 460/Β/1978). The act was copied from the registry, not checked against the ΦΕΚ.
•Coming: two new national marine parks are being created (Ionian + South Cyclades, ~27,500 km²). NOT yet in force (ΠΔ under review, mid-2026). Once live — a trawl ban + a seasonal coastal closure 15.04–31.05; in the strict zones spearfishing will be banned. Check before the season.
⛔ Pinna nobilis (πίννα, fan mussel) — full ban on taking/killing (Habitats Dir. 92/43 Annex IV; critically endangered).
Rules change, and the local Λιμεναρχείο (port authority) may impose local restrictions. Before heading out, check the current rules and the declared archaeological zones (ENALIA).
Can I spearfish on scuba in Kythira?
No. Freediving only: scuba and any air-supply apparatus are banned — they may not even be carried aboard (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2γ). In Kythira the rest of the national frame applies too: 16+, daytime only, ≥200 m from bathers, harbours, moored vessels and marked nets, and a mandatory «Υ.Δ.» buoy you stay within 50 m of. Pneumatic and band guns are allowed; only powerheads are banned.
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